Wednesday and Thursday, November 12-13, 2008

On Wednesday afternoon, we cruised from Melk to Vienna through the notoriously scenic Wachau Valley. It was another gray autumn day, with the misty weather making most people happy to sit in the comfort of the lounge and listen to cruise director Peter's descriptions of the vineyards, small towns, and castles, both intact and ruined, that we passed.

We arrived in Vienna in the evening, and some people went into the city to attend a concert. Our usual city tour was Thursday morning. With only a few hours to spend in Vienna, we barely skimmed the surface of this major European city. We started with a bus ride around the ring road, with our guide giving us a brief summary of major historical figures and notable buildings. We then walked along two major shopping streets to the Hofburg palace. This was the only rainy day of our trip, but the ship provided umbrellas and many members of our group spent their free time in shops or cafes, enjoying Vienna's famous Sacher torte (a sweet chocolate cake). A few of us attended the morning workout session at the Royal Spanish Riding School, to watch the white Lippizan stallions practice their dance-like routines in the beautiful 18th century arena, with chandeliers overhead and the music of Strauss and Mozart playing in the background.

Castle looming through the mist as we approach	Colorful buildings, pointy spires, and terraced hillsides	Town of Duernstein with castle on the hill above; Richard Lionhart was held captive there
Dressed for walking in the rain; note Vienna's mix of architecture	St. Stephen's Cathedral; beautiful tiled roof and, always, scaffolding	Plague column on Graben Street
Portrait of Leopold I on plague column, complete with accurately unhandsome Habsburg jaw	Approaching Hofburg Palace from Kohlmarkt	Spanish Riding School stables, with one horse peaking his white head over the door of his stall
Swans at the Amacello's bow	My presence drew swans and ducks close to the dock, obviously hoping for a handout	Holocaust Memorial in Judenplatz; memorial candles left from observances of 60th anniversary of Kristallnacht (Nov. 9-10 1938)